Produced by the Chinese game developer "Game Science" using the Unreal 5 engine, and based on the classic "Journey to the West", the action role-playing game "Black Myth: Wukong" is full of mythical worlds of immortals, Buddhas and monsters and will be launched in August. It will be released on PC and PS5 platforms on the 20th.
With its high development cost and long development cycle, the game is known as China's first AAA game masterpiece. It is highly anticipated by Chinese players, calling it the "light of domestic games". It is known as the Chinese version of "God of War" and "Ai". "Elden Ring", players will play the character Sun Wukong in Chinese mythology and defeat the monsters that are ravaging the world.
A masterpiece that is frequently controversial and touches on sensitive issues
However, the popularity of the work has also caused a lot of controversy. On the eve of the release of "Black Myth: Wukong", some netizens broke the news and posted old photos saying that Yang Qi, the producer and art designer of the game, had raised his middle finger in Tiananmen Square, China in 2018. This The old photo was posted publicly by Yang Qi on Weibo at that time. Although it was deleted afterwards, it was backed up by netizens. Netizens angrily cursed, "Spit it, black myth died violently" and "Traitors, don't eat patriotic food if you have the ability." .
Anti-China comments appear on Steam
In addition, a large number of anti-China remarks in Chinese suddenly appeared on the "Black Myth: Wukong" discussion board on Steam, which is headquartered in Washington State, USA. They are suspected of satirizing political figures, including saying "I will continue to Black Myth Wukong serves as the Jade Emperor, please raise your hands if you disagree", "The Jade Emperor cannot be re-elected", "The Jade Emperor's instructions on the upcoming release of Black Myth", etc.
Some people also questioned why Chinese games were put on the shelves of American game malls and began to label Steam as an "illegal overseas platform." Later, relevant remarks and a large number of posts criticizing the Chinese authorities and leader Xi Jinping were removed. Some netizens joked that "it has become an illegal overseas platform." Comments have been banned for a long time”, “Wu Chengen smiled, reality and myth are highly coincident”, “It’s banned, no one can play”.
Are Western ratings unfair to Chinese games?
The game content of "Black Myth: Wukong" is also controversial. The media review of the game was lifted on the evening of the 16th. IGN China gave a perfect score of 10. Metacritic combined 54 media scores and the average score was 82, which is quite good, but one of them Foreign media ScreenRant gave it a score of 3 out of 5 (equivalent to 60 points).
ScreenRant commented that the game "largely lacks inclusivity and diversity", with the reviewer stating:
The game's lack of diversity and inclusion has also been linked to disparaging comments made by developers about women playing their games, and while Black Myth: Wukong does have its enjoyable moments, in my opinion Throughout the entire gaming experience, there is an underlying feeling that the world is not welcoming to women.
However, in the eyes of Chinese officials and nationalists, this is an attempt by the West, led by the United States, to use feminism to ideologically infiltrate China. A Chinese commentary article criticized this as "using the West's politically correct stance to judge China's game. It’s really biased for the media.”
Meme coins emerge
As the market is about to be launched, a large number of meme coins related to "Black Myth: Wukong" have also emerged recently. There are even trading pairs with TVL exceeding one million US dollars. The meme coin Wukong with the same name has surged by more than 47% in a single day, but There are also meme coins with the same name that have plummeted 35% in a single day. However, it should be noted that these tokens are speculated to have no official relationship with "Black Myth: Wukong". At this stage, it is impossible to clarify whether the token creator is related to the manufacturer Game Science .
After the game is released, it is expected to trigger another wave of discussion on social media. Various memes, memes and second-generation works will emerge in an endless stream. The game may also trigger controversy between Eastern and Western aesthetics and culture. It will undoubtedly become the most popular meme of the same name. Coin brings extremely high exposure and popularity, but the price of meme currency fluctuates greatly, and the investment risk is extremely high. We remind you not to blindly follow the trend and invest with caution.
